Is It Time to Rethink Rental Categories?

The car rental industry has organized vehicles into familiar categories for decades: economy, compact, midsize, full-size, SUV, and more. But what happens when automakers no longer build many of the vehicles those categories were created around? In the inaugural episode of Rental Pulse, Auto Rental News' new video series, Chris Brown talks with Mike DeLorenzo, president of NPR Auto Group (NextCar, Priceless & Rent-A-Wreck), about how changes in vehicle manufacturing are reshaping the rental fleet. Does the industry's traditional rental-class structure still reflect the vehicles operators can actually buy and customers are actually driving? The conversation expands from there into the broader economics of running a rental operation in 2026. DeLorenzo discusses tighter vehicle sourcing, changing lifecycle economics, the strength of the wholesale market, softer rental demand, and his company's push toward more B2B and neighborhood rental business. He also explains why understanding true vehicle costs — and pricing rentals accordingly — is increasingly critical to profitability. Topics Discussed Do traditional rental categories still make sense? The disappearance of economy and compact cars Tighter vehicle sourcing for rental operators Changing lifecycle and remarketing economics B2B and neighborhood rental opportunities Pricing rentals around their true costs